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Vol 32 - No 05 - July/August 2006 Branch news : London & Southern - Visit to Channel Tunnel Link COMPLETING THE HIGH SPEED CONNECTION The presentation took place in the German Gymnasium, located opposite the main St Pancras Station. Only a small group took advantage of the chance to hear about one of Europe’s largest Civil Engineering Projects. Richard Jones provided the Group with a comprehensive overview of the Project. Objective of the Project Increase capacity; Channel Tunnel _ Kent _ London Reduce Train waiting times Stimulate regeneration Outcome Section 1 92% Punctuality recorded every 15 minutes Park and Ride facilities Use of French Rail techniques (Systra) Two parallel tube tunnels, holding one single track in each 5 Ventilation Shafts, providing access for technical staff and emergency services; though in the event of a disaster they would not encourage passengers to use these as exits, they would use the parallel tunnel. Section 2 High Speed Line _ Journey time London _ Paris = 2hrs15mins. = quicker by 20 mins Speed of trains 300km an hour (186 mph) Waterloo cease to be Euro tunnel terminal station Build The Push/Launch System was used as an effective build tool. St Pancras Re-development St Pancras Station has undergone a complete transformation as part of creating the new terminus for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The Barlow Shed has been restored to its original condition, with the replacement of glazing removed in the war. A huge extension has been added in a modern style to complement the original architecture. The undercroft below the platforms, which was originally used to store beer barrels, has been refurbished and opened up to provide retail areas and new waiting facilities. A completely new subterranean station has been created for Thameslink trains, and new linking walkways and booking halls added for Kings Cross Underground station. During all this work, the Midland Main Line services into St Pancras were maintained, despite three phased moves. Issues A prominent MP insisted that a tunnel was built over the section of new track in his neighbourhood, preventing adverse noise. This promise was kept to Parliament, but resulted in being the most expensive piece of track for the entire build, as the tunnel actually made the noise worse and the track had to be laid on a special insulating bed. In Summary The completed parallel tunnel was demonstrated to the Olympic Committee. Driving through the tunnel from Stratford to St Pancras, took approximately eight minutes. Following the fascinating presentation which finished all too quickly, the group took a tour around the outside of the site to get an idea of the scale of the development. Helen Dymond, MIOM What were the IOM doing in Cardiff? Unfortunately there is not space to tell you about the IOM’s visit to Cardiff International Airport in this issue, but look out for a full report about this event in the next issue of Control. Page number: 9 Word count: 475 Related Topics: